Cyclone Winston devastated Fiji in February of 2016. Sea Mercy was immediately ready to respond and was tasked by the government with Disaster Response and Recovery for the remote islands in the Lau Group. The information in this blog will keep you up-to-date on our actions and their impact on the communities we are helping. Your continued support will be essential during the long-term recovery process so we will also list current donation and volunteer opportunities here. Thank you!!

Map of Fiji

Tuesday, April 5, 2016

MANY IN THE REMOTE ISLANDS AND VILLAGES STILL IN DIRE NEED 6 WEEKS LATER!!

As time passes and the news coverage of Fiji dwindles, please do not take this to mean that life in Fiji is back to normal!! Some remote villages and islands have yet to receive any aid and even those that have received aid are still in great need of help to survive next few crucial months.

Kitchen of a school in the interior of Ra(Photo courtesy of Donna Quinn)

We recently received this picture of the kitchen of a school in the interior of the Ra District. The school serves 247
students and everything you see in the picture is all the kitchen equipment they
have left. The dorms were flooded and all the bottom bunk mattresses were
destroyed. A New Zealand relief organization has just committed to replacing the mattresses, but they will still need
bedding, sheets. pillows etc. They are also badly in need of childrens clothing.

Our contact, Donna Quinn, has also told us the school is off the beaten path and she has been out there a couple of times with the last being Thursday. She saw no sign that anybody
had been there with first relief and also passed along the report of a fatality. A little girl ran from a collapsing house during
the storm and was killed by flying debris.

We plan to take what we think they urgently need and do a
further assessment while on site.

This is just one example of the many people who are still suffering from the aftermath of Winston and have not been able to get the help they need. In addition, Fiji is currently experiencing heavy flooding from new storms.The need is still great!! Please continue to help Sea Mercy by donating your money, time or goods(in Fiji).

CURRENT NEEDS: April 2016

FUNDING:

Financial donations provide us with the most effective way to assist the remote islands. With guidance and direction from the National Disaster Management leadership in Fiji, we only use those funds to purchase the most needed items (import protocols and customs approved) for the devastated remote islands. Please use the PayPal button below for international donations and the bank routing information for local donations.